Field
The following description relates generally to wireless network communications, and more particularly to broadcast/multicast services.
Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as, for example, voice, data, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, . . . ). Examples of such multiple-access systems may include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like. Additionally, the systems can conform to specifications such as third generation partnership project (3GPP) (e.g., 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution)/LTE-Advanced), ultra mobile broadband (UMB), evolution data optimized (EV-DO), etc.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems may simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device may communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from base stations to mobile devices, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from mobile devices to base stations. Further, communications between mobile devices and base stations may be established via single-input single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and so forth.
Base stations can also provide broadcast/multicast communications to one or more devices. In one example, the base stations can broadcast signals including data for multiple services within one or more subframes or other periods of time. In this example, the devices can obtain certain data from the signals; for example, the devices can subscribe to a service from the one or more base stations that broadcasts the signals, and in one example, can receive corresponding instructions for decoding the data from the signals. Examples of broadcast services can include Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (MBMS), evolved MBMS (eMBMS), both of which are defined in LTE, and/or similar broadcast services for other network types.
Furthermore, eMBMS for example, provides a network-based counting procedure to obtain a number of devices receiving or decoding the broadcast signals from a base station by requesting the base station to broadcast a Counting Request. The Counting Request can identify certain devices, for example, and the devices receiving the Counting Request and determining that the request relates to the device can respond with a Counting Response over a unicast channel. Based on the responses received, the base station can determine a count of devices receiving broadcast services from the base station, and can report the count to the network. The count, however, may not be accurate as it only measures devices in a connected mode. In addition, such a polling procedure may require devices to wake up during certain time intervals and expend radio resources to respond to the Counting Request.